Maternity Postnatal Volunteer

Volunteer

Main area

Volunteering

Grade

Volunteer

Contract

Voluntary: N/A

Hours

Part time - 3 hours per week (3hrs per week: Shifts available 7 days a week)

Job ref

MATPV114

Site

Kingston and Richmond Foundation Trust

Town

Kingston

Closing

15/09/2026 23:59

Home, community, hospital

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of fantastic opportunities to grow your career across both hospital and community settings in south London. Whether you're looking to build new skills or take your experience to the next level, we are uniquely placed to provide the right environment to support your professional development. With colleagues working in people’s homes, in community clinics, and in our two hospitals, we have an outstanding breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from.

Our commitment to exceptional care is reflected in being the first trust of our kind in London to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC for both overall quality and leadership. We exist to provide the best possible care for our patients and we do that by giving our colleagues what they need to be their best at work. We have won numerous awards from the HSJ and Nursing Times for the way we support our colleagues across all our services.

We are proud to be recognised for our outstanding cancer care, children's services, pioneering surgical teams, and exceptional rehabilitation services. Our maternity services have been rated the "Best in London" by women surveyed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with parents travelling to Kingston to take advantage of our considerable experience and expertise.

Our Trust values

These words are important reminders, but it’s our behaviours that tell people who we are. We expect all colleagues to bring our values to life in their work.

• Compassionate: We provide care with kindness, understanding, and empathy for all.
• Inclusive: We embrace diversity and respect the unique contributions of every individual.
• Collaborative: We foster teamwork across all levels, working together and with our partners to deliver the best outcomes.
• Inspiring: We are committed to continuous improvement and excellence in patient care, staff development, and innovation.

The philosophy at the Kingston Hospital Maternity Unit is to put women and birthing people at the centre of their service. The unit are looking for support across a variety of departments. This role is specifically within Postnatal.

Tasks within this role include;

• Be a supportive companion, welcoming and chatting to women and their families, helping them feel at ease and

  helping with orientation to the ward/room

• Infant feeding support

• Assist with caring for the baby, whilst mum is showering for example (this may include changing nappies, dressing and providing advice and support where appropriate)

• Cleaning and restocking equipment (gloves, feeding trolleys) where necessary, including making beds & cleaning and clearing rooms following discharge

• Supporting with the meal service and making teas and coffees for women and families

• Answer general queries about the hospital/ward, for example, regarding carparking, charitable funds or where to buy a teddy etc.

• Transferring equipment and samples between departments as necessary

• Completing the Friends and Family Test

• Photocopying, filing and general administration support (including answering phones and responding to call bells) as necessary

• Supporting with the creation of Discharge Packs for women and with discharge

• Transferring women for scans & babies in cots up to the NNU with a parent

• Supporting with audits, e.g Hand Hygiene Audits

• Completing the admission log and audit

This role is best suited to volunteers who are proactive in supporting a large team, enjoy meeting people as well as providing companionship and support during what can be an emotional journey for women. You will need to be able to interact with people from all walks of life and be able to listen to people without judgement.

Essential Information:

If you are interested in more than 1 role, please submit your application on your initial preference (other roles can be discussed at assessment).

Please kindly note, you will be given a 20-minute assessment on the week commencing either the 28th September 2026 or 5th October 2026 at Kingston Hospital.

The Mandatory training for this role will be on Tuesday 24th November 2026.

All Postnatal Volunteers will also need to undertake Neonatal Life Support training (which will take place on the Volunteer Induction day) as well as a one day Infant Feeding Study Day, before commencing in role.

Please only apply if you are able to attend the above dates.

Please can you ensure you provide details for 2 references (one of which you have known for over 3 years) It is essential you provide an email address for each reference when submitting your application. Please note – you can provide a family friend but not a relative.

Please ensure to bring the below I.D documents to your assessment otherwise we will not be able to proceed with your assessment on the day.

A minimum of THREE individual forms of valid, current, and original identification are required. Please bring one document from group one (below) AND two documents from group two (Below):

Group One:

• UK Passport
• EEA/Swiss Passport
• Other passport with indefinite leave to remain
• Other Passport
• Biometric Residence permit
• Driving Licence photo card (UK, IOM or CI)
• Current EU Photo Driving Licence
• EU national identity card - EU only

Group Two:

• Driving Licence photo card (UK, IOM or CI)
• Current EU Photo Driving Licence
• Driving licence - old-style paper licence (must be UK)
• Bank statement (UK/EEA) - less than 3 months old
• Utility bill - less than 3 months old (UK)
• Utility bill - 2nd Supplier - less than 3 months old
• Council Tax Statement – issued in the last 12 months
• Mortgage statement (UK or EEA) must be a recognised lender and issued in the last 12 months

If you are unable to or have difficulty in providing the above evidence, please give us a call on 0208 934 3620 / 2549

Please ensure that you have read the Role Profile .

You will be contacted by the Volunteering Services Team via email. Please ensure that you check your email account regularly.

Kingston Hospital NHS Trust has four key values and we want to ensure that our volunteers share these values and demonstrate behaviours that support them. They are:

• Caring – Displaying empathy, compassion, dignity and respect to patients, staff and volunteers.

• Safe – Make the safety of patients, staff and volunteers our prime concern as safety comes first

• Responsible – All staff and volunteers take responsibility for the hospital, its services and reputation

• Value Each Other – Value each others’ contribution

Kingston Hospital NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of abuse. As such, if the appointee to this post will have access to children or vulnerable adults, he/she will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure Barring Service check.

However, all employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Volunteering Team

Email address

[email protected]

Telephone number

020 8934 2549 / 3620